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 CHAPTER III

THE SEVEN CITIES OF DELHI

The traditional Indraprastha — Hindu history — Hindu rajas — Mahomedan conquest — The seven cities — Dates and circumstances of their foundation — Reasons for successive abandonment — Vagaries of the river — Climatic conditions altered.

Map of the Seven Cities of Delhi, p. 132. The plains to the south of the modern city of Delhi certainly present an extraordinary aspect. In fact, we have only to imagine London deserted, the houses pulled down, and the materials removed; St. Paul's Cathedral, the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, and a few other buildings standing in solitary grandeur; hamlets scattered about here and there; and we have some idea of the havoc which has been wrought. The walls of Old Delhi and of Tughlukabad, it is true, have not been entirely removed; but of the other four cities next to nothing remains to show their limits. Much the same thing may be seen at Old Goa, where